Philosophy (Witt) and Communications (Lillie)

Kylie Jenner of the Kardashian family is known to be the queen of Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. She sends tweets, Instagrams, and snapchats multiple times a day. She has over 55 million followers on Instagram and 15 million followers on Twitter. She uses social media to share her life with her fans and promote her brands.

Celebrity #2: Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres is most famous for her talk show. She interviews guests who include celebrities, newsmakers and ordinary people with extraordinary talents providing her crowd with non-stop entertainment. She has a large presence on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Ellen. Through these various social media platforms she informs her viewers on who she will be interviewing. Ellen has over 56 million followers on Twitter and over 26 million followers on Instagram.

Wednesday:

After observing the social media platforms of Kylie Jenner and Ellen DeGeneres I have found both similarities and differences in the ways in which they use their social media. Both Jenner and DeGeneres use their social media to promote themselves. For example, Kylie Jenner recently developed a line of lipstick (Kylie Lip Kit) and uses social media to inform her fans of release dates, new colors, etc.

Here Ellen provides a sneak peek of her interview with Jessica Biel to encourage her fans to tune in. It is clear that a large use of Kylie Jenner and Ellen DeGeneres social media platforms is dedicated to self-promotion. I would say the biggest difference between the two celebrities use of social media is that Kylie Jenner’s is more personal. She tweets about her life like what she is doing and who she is hanging out with. I attribute this difference to the age gap. It is evident through Kylie’s social media that she takes her jobs seriously but also has a fun social life as a teenager that she wants to share with her fans. Another big difference between the two celebrities social media use is that Kylie’s is a lot more personal. Ellen’s social media is pretty formal so she doesn’t often reply to her fans. However, Kylie is in constant communication with her fans by replying nice things to them or defending herself if they are rude.

Ellen DeGeneres way of connecting with her fans is more letting them know what will be happening on her show. Also, she likes to use her sense of humor to entertain her fans. In addition, she often gives away huge gifts at her shows to all of the audience members. In summary, Kylie’s social media is more of a way for her to share her life and products with her fans. While, Ellen DeGeneres is a way to inform and entertain her fans.

Friday:

In the essay “Imagined Social Relationships” the relationship between the celebrity and the audience is discussed. Celebrities function as “emotional outlets” in which people can vent both positive and negative feelings. In addition, celebrities often serve as role models for people. Lastly, celebrities influence people to behave in certain ways or live in a particular lifestyle. Social media plays a large role in communicating these ideas from celebrity to fan. For example, people often use Kylie as a emotional outlet. People diss her looks and personality all the time on social media; however, many also praise her. Her instagram comments are full of hate and love which shows that people use her as an emotional outlet.

In addition, Ellen DeGeneres is often viewed as a role model. She donates to charities and gifts people with extraordinary things. She posts her deals and giveaways on her social media which inspires people to be like her. In addition, Kylie often posts stories of young woman who have encountered bullying to stand up against it.

Lastly, Kylie often posts pictures of her expensive clothing, furniture, cars and other items (an every day thing). She exposes her fans to her luxurious lifestyle which makes them want to live her life. Imaginary relationships are created with celebrities through social media. The constant virtual connection between celebrities and their fans further builds to their “personal” relationship as if they were friends. Social media allows fans to get to know celebrities in a closer way. The interactions that celebrities have on social media with their fans helps them gain a better name.